An estimated 170-foot, green caterpillar was recently spotted on the front office building at San Martin Gwinn Elementary School in San Martin.
That’s because sixth graders from the rural elementary school and college students in the Gavilan College Art Program completed their latest mural in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the joint project.
“It’s beautiful and colorful and really adds a lot of character to the school,” said Ann Horner, a college student enrolled in the art program. “It’s the biggest one they’ve ever done.”
San Martin Gwinn’s colorful campus also has a Dr. Seuss mural as well as one of a large blue eagle writing a letter to the president. Both were created by previous sixth grade classes who were given the opportunity to “leave a legacy before moving on to middle school.”
This year, about 30 to 40 sixth graders participated in the after-school program. Every Friday for two hours, Gavilan College students assisted the grade school students in first developing the design in the computer program, PhotoShop.
The year-long endeavor culminated with 20 students, using mural paint, sketching and coloring in the large painting on the building wall. While Horner said there are still some touch-up details needed, the 2013 mural is “95 percent” completed. The theme for this year’s sixth graders comes from the Eric Carle story, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”
Mural director Gloria “Chile” Cifuentes of San Martin Gwinn since 2008, along with assistant Lori Rider, offer the program to all sixth graders at the elementary school.
Cifuentes, who studied mural painting at Gavilan College under the direction of Art Department Chair Arturo “r2row” Rosette and is currently studying art at the University of California at Santa Cruz, called this year’s group “the best so far.”
